Despite “Not Caring”, Mookie Betts Earns Unwanted Barry Bonds Steroid-Stained Comparison

Comparisons are inevitable, leading to placing today’s talents alongside yesteryear’s legends. However, talking about comparisons, praise, admiration, and drawing parallels among others can sometimes evoke mixed emotions. Mookie Betts stands on the stage with a spotlight on him in this regard.

Betts, the evergreen and highly respected player has recently found himself drawing comparisons to another icon with a controversial past, Barry Bonds.

Juxtaposition of Mookie Betts and Barry Bonds 

The Dodgers outfielder’s approach to the game has endeared Betts to fans and teammates and drawn him admiration from all corners. Both Bonds and Betts have amassed MVP awards, home run titles, Gold Gloves, and Silver Slugger awards. Surprisingly, in a segment that compared Betts’ stats with Barry Bonds’ MLB Network highlighted that Betts’ resume was far superior than that of the Giants’ Giant, Bonds.

As it turns out Betts has more home runs, hits, runs and RBI spanned across both their entire careers through 1231 games. However, former Giants player stands out in only one aspect, Slugging %, that too from a marginal difference. This is quite the comparison for the 7x All-Star, who does not prioritize numbers. 

Dodgers’ Manager Unveiled Some Inevitable Parallels About Betts

“Whether it’s a defensive play that helps the team or a base-running play that gets himself into scoring position for a teammate to drive in a run — I think he just gets more satisfaction out of that.” “When it’s a home run, which certainly helps the team, he just doesn’t care for all the statistics. He just plays the game to win,” said Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts to Los Angeles Times.

Betts’ resume, though built upon his honest dedication to the sport, has begun to echo that of Bonds in certain statistical facets. This year clearly seems like an all-time high for the AL MVP and the parallels with 7x MVP go like this. As his career arc takes shape, an unexpected and unwanted comparison goes on.

Despite his disinterest in personal stats, Betts’ impact on the field cannot be belittled. With his all-around skill set from unmatched defensive plays to strategic base-running, Betts is juxtaposed with Bonds. On the other hand, Bonds’ association with performance-enhancing drugs has left a somewhat unerasable scratch on his otherwise remarkable career. A stigma has persisted for years now, and it does not cease. 

Read More : LeBron James Makes Another Move Toward Mookie Betts Despite Age-Old Relation with Michael Jordan

Nevertheless, Betts fans are resilient and immune to any noise, they continue chanting “We love Mookie!”

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